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THE BOSTON JEWISH TIMES
Write the vision and make it plain upon tables
HABUKKUK 2:2
TELEPHONE (617) 442-9680 � FEBRUARY 9, 1989
4 ADAR 5749
VOL. XLIV, NO. 11
25c
Arafat Dealt Out Of
Israeli Peace Initiatives
By Samuel Seidner
BOSTON � As Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir's new
coalition government settles in,
Israel's vision of attaining a
negotiated end to the intifada is
taking form. In a series of press
conferences, interviews,
television appearances and
prepared statements, key
political leaders are outlining the
steps Israel is contemplating.
Several themes are emerging
from this process of trial
balloons. First, Israel feels that
the intifada must be voluntarily
moderated by Palestinian
leaders to create an atmosphere
of acommodation. Secondly,
some sort of elections must be
held in the administered
territories so that negotiations
lean be conducted with
'Palestinian representatives who
have an active and articulated
mandate from the people.
Thirdly, Palestinians who have
an association with the PLO
might be acceptable to Israel,
but Yasir Arafat and his inner
circle cannot be partners to
negotiations.
Israel's attitude towards a role
for the United Nations in the
Middle East peace process is in
flux. On one hand, Defense
Minister Yitzhak Rabin told
reporters late in January, "We
will not allow the UN into the
territories." He was reacting to
Palestinian calls for UN
supervision of the territories.
But in a recent interview in the
Jerusalem Post, Mr. Shamir
�said, "If it can help
that...negotiations be held
under...the UN, I don't mind, as
long as the negotiations
themselves are direct..."
Mr. Rabin unveiled a
comprehensive plan in a long
interview on Israel television.
His plan called for a series of
steps leading to a Palestinian
confederation with Jordan or
Israel over an unstipulated
period of time. First, he said,
there must be a period of
quiescence on the West Bank
and Gaza. This lull in the
intifada would be followed by
elections. He emphasized that
the elections must be general,
not local. He meant that
representatives elected would
not hold municipal authority,
but rather would negotiate on
behalf of Palestinians with
Israel. "Each elected official will
represent the 1.5 million
Palestinians living in the
territories," he said.
As negotiations progress,
there will be a period of "semi-
autonomy" in the territories,
Mr. Rabin continued. His plan
calls for Jordan to enter the
negotiations together with
Palestinians and Israel,
achieving a tri-lateral
agreement. Finally, Palestinians
themselves will decide if they
want a confederation with
Jordan or Israel.
Mr. Rabin seemed receptive
to the candidacies of any
Palestinian "living in the
territories." That implied that
Palestinians who have avowed
ties to the PLO are acceptable.
But he also stressed that those
from "outside" the territories,
meaning Arafat, are not viable
candidates.
As if to underline the
importance he placed on his
plan, Mr. Rabin modified it a
few days after his television
appearance. He dropped his
demand for a lull in the intifada
as a condition. "I am ready to
speak now," he said, "to reach
agreement on the process. When
there is agreement on the
process, the calm will begin."
Although Rabin was silent on
the subject of the Soviet Union,
Mr. Shamir was more
forthcoming in his Post
interview. "1 think that today the
Soviets are interested in calming
down the Middle East...perhaps
they can be of assistance."This is
a positively exuberant statement
from the usually cautious
Shamir.
Last week, Mr. Shamir
accelerated the pace. He
proposed pulling selected Israeli
troops out of certain cities if
Palestinian leaders agree to
semi-autonomy on an interim
basis, to be followed by direct
negotiations without precondi-
tions between Israel, Palestin-
ians and Arab countries.
The Israeli use of the word
autonomy means that Palestin-
See Peace page 5
Judaism In USSR: Renaissance Amid Anti-Semitism
By Frank M. Waldorf
In the Belorussian capital,
Minsk, there is a nascent rebirth
of Jewish consciousness that is
often impeded by its own
success. When Jews learn
Hebrew or Jewish history or
religious observance, they
become increasingly unhappy
about their double life in Minsk
and apply for exit visas.
Naftali Hirsh is an exception.
A deeply committed, religious
Jew, he has no plans to leave his
native city. He has, by Russian
standards, an excellent job,
which affords him the leisure to
pursue his two major interests:
Jewish studies and painting.
Though he cannot obtain kosher
meat and is rarely able to strictly
observe Shabbat, he fancies
himself an increasingly
Orthodox Jew. Prominent in his
apartment are a chanukiah, a
havdala spice box and a Shabbat
kiddush cup. There are many
Hebrew books on his shelf.
Naftali explains his
heightened attachment to
Judaism in the context of a
larger renaissance of national
and ethnic awareness now
spreading throughout Belorus-
sia, Georgia and the Ukraine.
For him, it is only natural that he
and his Jewish friends now take
seriously their own heritage.
Naftali (the names of all Jews
mentioned in this article have
been disguised) says his
background is similar to that of
100 or so activists among the
45,000 Jews now residing in
Minsk. His grandfather was an
observant Jew before the
Revolution. But both his parents
were committed members of the
Communist party from
childhood. They were keenly
disappointed when their only
son refused to join Komsomol,
the Communist youth move-
ment. Adding to their chagrin,
Naftali chose to study art rather
than engineering. Naftali's
parents remain bitter to this day
over the sacrifices they feel they
made to advance the family
fortunes. Sacrifices that were
obliterated by their son's
insistence on an independent
course of life.
1 met Naftali within hours of
my arrival in Minsk. In his
apartment he spoke freely to my
wife and me about his recently
discovered Jewish life. He and
his circle have received
clandestine support and
encouragement from the
Lubavitch movement. His needs
and desires are eloquently
simple: more Russian/Hebrew
prayerbooks; a Russian-
language Jewish encyclopedia;
more offers from abroad to
sponsor those Russian Jews who
wish to emigrate.
Within hours, Naftali
assembled five friends in his
apartment for an impromptu
Bible lesson. They listened
patiently as I expounded Sedra
Shemot and explored possible
reasons why Moses was
reluctant to assume leadership of
the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. My
hope was to draw a parallel
between Moses, who finally
accepted responsibility for his
brethren, and these young Jews,
who despite their difficult
circumstances and ambivalent
feelings, would feel impelled to
lead the apathetic Jews of
Minsk.
When I finished, they focused
on two points. First, they didn't
understand why God would
inflict Moses with a near-fatal
disease as he was returning to
Egypt and why curing this illness
was through Zipporah
circumsizing her son and
labeling Moses a bridgroom of
blood. If Moses was doing God's
will, they reasoned, why should
he suffer ill health? Second, they
abruptly changed the subject
and asked for the meaning of the
letters on the dreidel. Someone
had brought them the Hanuka
top as a gift, but they didn't
know how to play or what the
letters meant.
Hungrily, they absorbed my
answers. Rarely does an
American rabbi have an
opportunity to touch such an
eager, receptive group.
These young Jews do not visit
the sole dilapidated synagogue
in Minsk despite their reborn
zeal. For them it is the domain of
the old people. (Before World
War II there were 114
synagogues in Minsk). The
synagogue sits amid a vast area
of vacant lots set aside for urban
renewal. Now about 50
oldtimers gather there on
Shabbos. The daily minyan is
sometimes short a man or two.
The Jewish community of Minsk
has been offered a new building
in the suburbs. The offer was
refused because the elderly
would not be able to reach the
proposed new building from the
center of the city.
Our group visited the
synagogue on a weekday
afternoon. We met 96-year old
Baruch Kaplan, who moved to
Minsk from the Ukraine after his
wife died. He lives with his 60-
year old daughter who refuses to
keep kosher or allow him to wear
t'fellin in the house. We spoke
Yiddish. As we departed, he
invoked his priestly preogative,
blessing us with success along
our way. He broke into tears.
The cultural, religious
renaissance represented by
Naftali Hirsch and his circle,
takes place against a backdrop
of pervasive anti-Semitism.
Some explain the resurgence of
anti-Semitism as a byproduct of
See Renaissance page 8
Vandalism of Jewish tomb-
stones in Belorussia. Non-
Jewish tombstones are left
undisturbed.

User has an obligation to determine copyright or other use restrictions prior to publication or distribution. Please contact the archives at reference@ajhsboston.org or 617-226-1245 for more information.

THE BOSTON JEWISH TIMES
Write the vision and make it plain upon tables
HABUKKUK 2:2
TELEPHONE (617) 442-9680 � FEBRUARY 9, 1989
4 ADAR 5749
VOL. XLIV, NO. 11
25c
Arafat Dealt Out Of
Israeli Peace Initiatives
By Samuel Seidner
BOSTON � As Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir's new
coalition government settles in,
Israel's vision of attaining a
negotiated end to the intifada is
taking form. In a series of press
conferences, interviews,
television appearances and
prepared statements, key
political leaders are outlining the
steps Israel is contemplating.
Several themes are emerging
from this process of trial
balloons. First, Israel feels that
the intifada must be voluntarily
moderated by Palestinian
leaders to create an atmosphere
of acommodation. Secondly,
some sort of elections must be
held in the administered
territories so that negotiations
lean be conducted with
'Palestinian representatives who
have an active and articulated
mandate from the people.
Thirdly, Palestinians who have
an association with the PLO
might be acceptable to Israel,
but Yasir Arafat and his inner
circle cannot be partners to
negotiations.
Israel's attitude towards a role
for the United Nations in the
Middle East peace process is in
flux. On one hand, Defense
Minister Yitzhak Rabin told
reporters late in January, "We
will not allow the UN into the
territories." He was reacting to
Palestinian calls for UN
supervision of the territories.
But in a recent interview in the
Jerusalem Post, Mr. Shamir
�said, "If it can help
that...negotiations be held
under...the UN, I don't mind, as
long as the negotiations
themselves are direct..."
Mr. Rabin unveiled a
comprehensive plan in a long
interview on Israel television.
His plan called for a series of
steps leading to a Palestinian
confederation with Jordan or
Israel over an unstipulated
period of time. First, he said,
there must be a period of
quiescence on the West Bank
and Gaza. This lull in the
intifada would be followed by
elections. He emphasized that
the elections must be general,
not local. He meant that
representatives elected would
not hold municipal authority,
but rather would negotiate on
behalf of Palestinians with
Israel. "Each elected official will
represent the 1.5 million
Palestinians living in the
territories," he said.
As negotiations progress,
there will be a period of "semi-
autonomy" in the territories,
Mr. Rabin continued. His plan
calls for Jordan to enter the
negotiations together with
Palestinians and Israel,
achieving a tri-lateral
agreement. Finally, Palestinians
themselves will decide if they
want a confederation with
Jordan or Israel.
Mr. Rabin seemed receptive
to the candidacies of any
Palestinian "living in the
territories." That implied that
Palestinians who have avowed
ties to the PLO are acceptable.
But he also stressed that those
from "outside" the territories,
meaning Arafat, are not viable
candidates.
As if to underline the
importance he placed on his
plan, Mr. Rabin modified it a
few days after his television
appearance. He dropped his
demand for a lull in the intifada
as a condition. "I am ready to
speak now," he said, "to reach
agreement on the process. When
there is agreement on the
process, the calm will begin."
Although Rabin was silent on
the subject of the Soviet Union,
Mr. Shamir was more
forthcoming in his Post
interview. "1 think that today the
Soviets are interested in calming
down the Middle East...perhaps
they can be of assistance."This is
a positively exuberant statement
from the usually cautious
Shamir.
Last week, Mr. Shamir
accelerated the pace. He
proposed pulling selected Israeli
troops out of certain cities if
Palestinian leaders agree to
semi-autonomy on an interim
basis, to be followed by direct
negotiations without precondi-
tions between Israel, Palestin-
ians and Arab countries.
The Israeli use of the word
autonomy means that Palestin-
See Peace page 5
Judaism In USSR: Renaissance Amid Anti-Semitism
By Frank M. Waldorf
In the Belorussian capital,
Minsk, there is a nascent rebirth
of Jewish consciousness that is
often impeded by its own
success. When Jews learn
Hebrew or Jewish history or
religious observance, they
become increasingly unhappy
about their double life in Minsk
and apply for exit visas.
Naftali Hirsh is an exception.
A deeply committed, religious
Jew, he has no plans to leave his
native city. He has, by Russian
standards, an excellent job,
which affords him the leisure to
pursue his two major interests:
Jewish studies and painting.
Though he cannot obtain kosher
meat and is rarely able to strictly
observe Shabbat, he fancies
himself an increasingly
Orthodox Jew. Prominent in his
apartment are a chanukiah, a
havdala spice box and a Shabbat
kiddush cup. There are many
Hebrew books on his shelf.
Naftali explains his
heightened attachment to
Judaism in the context of a
larger renaissance of national
and ethnic awareness now
spreading throughout Belorus-
sia, Georgia and the Ukraine.
For him, it is only natural that he
and his Jewish friends now take
seriously their own heritage.
Naftali (the names of all Jews
mentioned in this article have
been disguised) says his
background is similar to that of
100 or so activists among the
45,000 Jews now residing in
Minsk. His grandfather was an
observant Jew before the
Revolution. But both his parents
were committed members of the
Communist party from
childhood. They were keenly
disappointed when their only
son refused to join Komsomol,
the Communist youth move-
ment. Adding to their chagrin,
Naftali chose to study art rather
than engineering. Naftali's
parents remain bitter to this day
over the sacrifices they feel they
made to advance the family
fortunes. Sacrifices that were
obliterated by their son's
insistence on an independent
course of life.
1 met Naftali within hours of
my arrival in Minsk. In his
apartment he spoke freely to my
wife and me about his recently
discovered Jewish life. He and
his circle have received
clandestine support and
encouragement from the
Lubavitch movement. His needs
and desires are eloquently
simple: more Russian/Hebrew
prayerbooks; a Russian-
language Jewish encyclopedia;
more offers from abroad to
sponsor those Russian Jews who
wish to emigrate.
Within hours, Naftali
assembled five friends in his
apartment for an impromptu
Bible lesson. They listened
patiently as I expounded Sedra
Shemot and explored possible
reasons why Moses was
reluctant to assume leadership of
the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. My
hope was to draw a parallel
between Moses, who finally
accepted responsibility for his
brethren, and these young Jews,
who despite their difficult
circumstances and ambivalent
feelings, would feel impelled to
lead the apathetic Jews of
Minsk.
When I finished, they focused
on two points. First, they didn't
understand why God would
inflict Moses with a near-fatal
disease as he was returning to
Egypt and why curing this illness
was through Zipporah
circumsizing her son and
labeling Moses a bridgroom of
blood. If Moses was doing God's
will, they reasoned, why should
he suffer ill health? Second, they
abruptly changed the subject
and asked for the meaning of the
letters on the dreidel. Someone
had brought them the Hanuka
top as a gift, but they didn't
know how to play or what the
letters meant.
Hungrily, they absorbed my
answers. Rarely does an
American rabbi have an
opportunity to touch such an
eager, receptive group.
These young Jews do not visit
the sole dilapidated synagogue
in Minsk despite their reborn
zeal. For them it is the domain of
the old people. (Before World
War II there were 114
synagogues in Minsk). The
synagogue sits amid a vast area
of vacant lots set aside for urban
renewal. Now about 50
oldtimers gather there on
Shabbos. The daily minyan is
sometimes short a man or two.
The Jewish community of Minsk
has been offered a new building
in the suburbs. The offer was
refused because the elderly
would not be able to reach the
proposed new building from the
center of the city.
Our group visited the
synagogue on a weekday
afternoon. We met 96-year old
Baruch Kaplan, who moved to
Minsk from the Ukraine after his
wife died. He lives with his 60-
year old daughter who refuses to
keep kosher or allow him to wear
t'fellin in the house. We spoke
Yiddish. As we departed, he
invoked his priestly preogative,
blessing us with success along
our way. He broke into tears.
The cultural, religious
renaissance represented by
Naftali Hirsch and his circle,
takes place against a backdrop
of pervasive anti-Semitism.
Some explain the resurgence of
anti-Semitism as a byproduct of
See Renaissance page 8
Vandalism of Jewish tomb-
stones in Belorussia. Non-
Jewish tombstones are left
undisturbed.